I am studying for a test and don\'t understand how do do thisproblem. A charge +

Question

I am studying for a test and don't understand how do do thisproblem. A charge +q is at the origin. A charge -2q is atx=2.00m on the x-axis. a) For what finite value(s) of x is the electric fieldzero? b) For what finite value(s) of x is the electric potentialzero? I am studying for a test and don't understand how do do thisproblem. A charge +q is at the origin. A charge -2q is atx=2.00m on the x-axis. a) For what finite value(s) of x is the electric fieldzero? b) For what finite value(s) of x is the electric potentialzero?

Explanation / Answer

The electric potential on the other hand is a value we use todescribe the E-field. When we work with the E-field, we have tomess with vectors and the calculations can be difficult, so usingthe electric potential simplifies the matter. The good thing aboutthe electric potential is that it is relative to some referencepoint: you can always obtain a value for the potential by lookingat a difference in potential. Normally we take the reference pointto be infinite, which is where we define V = 0. This normally makesour calculations easier (except when we're dealing with a chargethat extends to infinite). However, this doesn't mean that theelectric potential can't be 0 anywhere else. In fact, we can justas easily pick any point along x for which the electric potentialis 0. So technically, all values of x can have an electricpotential of zero, depending on how we want to calculate thepotential.
Hope this helps and I'm not just confusing you. Let me know ifyou have any questions.

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